Conveyor belt tensioning device for tunnel cooker

ABSTRACT

A conveyor cooker has a housing with a tunnel enclosure portion through which passes an open-work conveyor that is formed of linked bars, with one bar having a removable open link. The conveyor loop is completed by connecting the open link to the last link, and by applying tension to the conveyor loop to maintain the connection of the open link bar. A tension applying means includes a roller and shaft that engage inside of the belt and are mounted in brackets extending externally of the housing. The brackets include an inclined camming surface along which the shaft slides to apply the tension, and grooves in which the shaft seats to maintain the tension.

United States Patent Burstein 1 Mar. 14, 1972 CONVEYOR BELT TENSIONINGDEVICE FOR TUNNEL COOKER inventor:

US. Cl ..l98/l95, 198/208 Int. Cl ..B65g 15/30 Field of Search..l98/l35, 208, 195, 199;

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/1956 Price ....l98/l95 6/1969Burstein 198/195 Primary Examiner-Richard E. Aegerter Attorney-Morton C.Jacobs [57] ABSTRACT A conveyor cooker has a housing with a tunnelenclosure portion through which passes an open-work conveyor that isformed of linked bars, with one bar having a removable open link. Theconveyor loop is completed by connecting the open link to the last link,and by applying tension to the conveyor loop to maintain the connectionof the open link bar. A tension applying means includes a roller andshaft that engage inside of the belt and are mounted in bracketsextending externally of the housing. The brackets include an inclinedcamming surface along which the shaft slides to apply the tension, andgrooves in which the shaft seats to maintain the ten- 9 Claims, 2Drawing Figures PAIENTEBMAR 14 I972 I 3,648 82 5 12 la f al *32 '44 56INVENTOR. N ORMAN B URSTEIN Y Wi ATTORNEY CONVEYOR BELT TENSIONINGDEVICE FOR TUNNEL COOKER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This inventionrelates to cooking equipment, and particularly to a conveyor cookeremploying an openwork conveyor belt, and the attachment and tensioningmeans therefor. In a conveyor cooker the conveyor belt must frequentlybe removed for cleaning off food debris, and it is thereafter reinsertedin the cooker and mounted with appropriate belt tension. One form ofsuch a conveyor cooker to which this invention is applicable is thatdescribed in applicant's copending, allowed application Ser. No.658,741, now US. Pat. No. 3,448,678, issued June 10, 1969. In thatcooker, a tunnel enclosure is provided through which the conveyor beltpasses to move the food between radiant heating elements, and thecooking is performed during the passage through the tunnel enclosure.

The conveyor belt of that cooker includes a plurality of spaced barsthat extend across the path of the belt with their ends bent to form aclosed link around the next adjacent bar. One of the bars of the belt isformed with open links for removably engaging the next adjacent bar tocomplete the continuous belt. At the unloading end of the housing a beltsupport and housing include means for releasably applying tension to thebelt to maintain the open-link bar in engagement, whereby the tensionmay be released, the bar unhooked and the belt removed for cleaning.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is among the objects of this invention toprovide a new and improved conveyor belt and tensioning means for use ina conveyor cooker.

Another object is to provide a new and improved conveyor belt andtensioning means whereby an openwork conveyor belt may be quickly andreliably secured to and removed from a cooker housing.

In one embodiment illustrative of this invention, the conveyor belt isconstructed in the manner described above and in the aforementionedcopending application, the description of which is incorporated hereinby reference. The belt tensioning means includes a roller rotatablymounted on a shaft and inserted within the completed loop of theconveyor belt. The shaft, in turn, is mounted onto brackets that extendfrom the unloading end of the cooker housing. The brackets includeinclined camming surfaces extending outwardly from the said housing inthe unloading direction, and seating grooves at the end of the inclinedcamming surface. The roller and shaft are inserted inside of theconveyor belt for applying tension to the belt, and the shaft is movedalong the bracket camming surfaces to apply tension within the belt and,at the extreme ends of the camming surfaces, the shaft seats and isretained in the bracket grooves, whereby the full tension is applied tothe belt and maintained by the seated shaft. The brackets also includeDESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT and heating elements (not shown).The heating elements may thumb rest portions for assisting in theremoval of the shaft 7 from the seating grooves, whereby the tension inthe belt may be readily relieved and the belt unhooked and removed forcleaning.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The foregoing and other objects of thisinvention, the vari ous features thereof, as well as the inventionitself, may be more fully understood from the following description whenread together with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of the top, unloading end of aconveyor cooker and conveyor belt tensioning device embodying thisinvention; and

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a fragment of the conveyor belt used inthe cooker of FIG. 1.

Throughout the drawing, similar parts are referenced by correspondingnumerals.

be provided above or below the conveyor, or both above and below, and alid for enclosing the heating elements and thereby forming a tunnelenclosure is also provided, all as is described in the aforementionedcopending application which is incorporated herein by reference. Food isloaded on the upper belt surface 19, and the belt 18 carries the foodthrough the heating enclosure to the unloading end 12, where the belt 18passes outside of the housing 10 and carries the food outside forunloading.

The conveyor belt 18 is formed of a plurality of steel bars 24, coatedwith teflon or other suitable material which is adapted to be subjectedto high temperatures in the cooking unit and may be readily cleaned.Each of the bars 24 extends at right angles to the path of the beltthrough the housing 10 and has its ends 22 bent to extend along thatpath. Each end permits ready engagement and disengagement of the belt. 2within the conveyor, whereby the user may remove the belt for cleaningand thereafter reinsert and assemble it within the housing.

An angle bracket 20 on the inside of the housing wall 14, and a similarbracket on the inside of wall 16, project inwardly to provide shouldersupports for the linking ends 23 and 23' of the conveyor bars 24 and 24.Thus the curved portions of the links 23 of the conveyor bars bear onthe brackets as the conveyor belt arrives through the tunnel enclosure,and thereby maintain the conveyor belt 18 substantially in a horizontalorientation from the drive sprockets (not shown) at the loading end ofthe housing, to a rod 26 providing a belt support and bearing at theunloading end. A fixed rod 26, preferably of stainless steel, has beenfound suitable for a sliding bearing; however, a rotatable idler bearingmay be used in place thereof.

A pair of brackets 28 and 30 project outwardly from the unloading endsof the side housing walls 14 and 16 respectively. These brackets mayeach be formed of bent sheet metal such as stainless steel. Each bracketis formed with a flat base portion 32 which is fixedly attached to itshousing wall and an ear 34 projecting from the base in the unloadingdirection. A lug 36 at the free end of the ear 34 is bent backtherefrom. The ear 34 includes an inclined camming surface 38 extendingfrom a point near the base 32 and inclined downwardly and outwardlytherefrom and terminating in an arcuate seating groove 40.

A shaft 42 has reduced portions 44 at each end thereof forming shoulders46 which are located at spaced points that correspond to the spacebetween the ears 34 of the brackets 28 and 30, whereby the shaft isfirmly seated between those brackets. The reduced portions 44 fit withinthe seating grooves 40 to retain the shaft in its tensioned position. Aroller 48, preferably formed of an easily cleanable material such asTeflon, is rotatably mounted on the shaft and has a length approximatelyequal to the width of the conveyor belt, whereby the belt rides on theroller and is tensioned thereby.

The conveyor belt is mounted within the housing by passing it throughthe enclosure portion and having it rest on the brackets 20. With theroller 48 out of the way, the loop of the belt is readily completed byconnecting the open link ends 22' of the bar 24 to the last bar 24 ofthe belt. Thereafter, the roller mounted on the shaft is inserted insideof the belt at the unloading end. The shaft portions 44 are placed onthe camming surfaces 38 of the brackets 28 and 30 at the tops thereof,and by pressure applied to the portions 44 the roller is moved down andeasily rotated along the camming surfaces to their ends where the shaftportions 44 move into and are seated in the grooves 40. The shaftshoulders 46 retain the shaft between the bracket ears 34 so that theshaft is securely retained in position. In that condition the conveyorloop is fully and properly tensioned by the roller 48, and the latteralso provides a suitable bearing for the conveyor belt as it passes outof the tunnel enclosure of the cooker with the food. In this fashion, arelatively large tension can be manually applied to the belt withoutdifficulty by an operator.

For removal of the conveyor belt, outward pressure is applied to theshaft portions 44 to unseat them from the grooves 40. For this purposethe lugs 36 act as thumb rests whereby the outward pressure may beeasily applied to the shaft. The shaft portions 44, when unseated,readily roll up the camming surfaces 38 to relieve the tension on thebelt, and the roller 48 can be removed from within the belt. The openlink 23 of the conveyor belt 24' is then readily unhooked from the lastbar 24 of the belt 18, and the belt then removed from the tunnelenclosure for cleaning.

Thus, in accordance with the foregoing description, a new and improvedconveyor cooker mechanism is provided by this invention. A tensioningdevice and an openwork conveyor belt makes it possible to readily removethe belt for cleaning and for reassembly on the cooker and for applyingthe desired tension to the loop of the completed conveyor belt. It willbe apparent that the above described embodiment is exemplary of thevarious features of this invention and that modifications can be madewithin the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a conveyor cooker comprising:

a housing including an enclosure portion, and an unloading end;

an open-work continuous conveyor belt extending as a material supportingsurface in said housing through said enclosure portion to said unloadingend, said conveyor belt including a plurality of spaced bars extendingtransversely of the path of said belt with the ends thereof bent toextend substantially along said path, each end ofa plurality of saidbars being formed with a substantially closed link around the nextadjacent bar, and one of said bars being formed with open links forremovably engaging the next adjacent bar to complete the continuousbelt;

and means connected to said housing for providing a bearing for themoving belt, and for releasably applying tension to said belt to extendthe belt and to maintain said open-link bar in engagement, including rodmeans and a pair of spaced brackets mounted on said housing forremovably supporting said rod means to engage the inside surface of saidbelt and to apply tension thereto, whereby upon removal of said rodmeans, the open-link bar of said belt is disengageable for removal ofsaid belt,

the improvement therein of:

said brackets of said bearing and tension applying means,

each including an inclined camming surface and a seating surface forsaid rod means at one end of said camming surface;

whereby tension is applied to said belt by moving said rod means alongsaid bracket camming surfaces to said seat ing surfaces of said bracketsfor retention therein.

2. An improved conveyor belt and tension applying means for use in aconveyor cooker as recited in claim 1, wherein said brackets eachinclude a base attached to said housing, an ear projecting from saidbase and having said camming and seating surfaces formed along an edgethereof, and a lug projecting from said ear forming a thumb rest forassistance in applying manual pressure to said rod means duringunseating thereof.

3. An improved conveyor belt and tension applying means for use in aconveyor cooker as recited in claim 2, wherein said rod means includes ashaft and roller mounted thereon. said shaft having ends dimensioned forseating in said seating surfaces and shoulders for retention between theears of said brackets.

4. An improved conveyor belt and tension applying means for use in aconveyor cooker as recited in claim 1, wherein said tension applyingmeans extends the belt in a direction outwardly from said enclosureportion and parallel to said material supporting surface, and saidbrackets are spacedly mounted on said housing for said belt to passtherebetween, and wherein said camming surface is formed at an obliqueangle to said material supporting surface.

5. An improved conveyor belt and tension applying means for use in aconveyor cooker as recited in claim 4, wherein said brackets eachinclude a base attached to said housing, an ear projecting from saidbase in said tension direction and having said camming and seatingsurfaces formed along an edge thereof, and a lug projecting from saidear forming a thumb rest for assistance in applying manual pressure tosaid rod means during unseating thereof; said lug being located on oneside of said seating surface remote from said camming surface.

6. An improved conveyor belt and tension applying means for use in aconveyor cooker as recited in claim 5, wherein said rod means includes ashaft and roller mounted thereon, said shaft having ends dimensioned forseating in said seating surfaces and shoulders for retention between theears of said brackets.

7. An improved conveyor belt and tension applying means for use in aconveyor cooker as recited in claim 5, wherein said seating surface ofeach of said brackets is open and faces in said tension direction sothat said rod means is substantially unenclosed when seated and can bemoved in said tension direction without external interference.

8. An improved conveyor belt and tension applying means for use in aconveyor cooker as recited in claim 7, wherein said ear is planar andsaid thumb rest lug extends transversely to the plane thereof and awayfrom the belt therebetween.

9. An improved conveyor belt and tension applying means for use in aconveyor cooker as recited in claim 8, wherein said camming surface isinclined downwardly and out-wardly from said material supporting surfaceand said base respectively.

1. In a conveyor cooker comprising: a housing including an enclosureportion, and an unloading end; an open-work continuous conveyor beltextending as a material supporting surface in said housing through saidenclosure portion to said unloading end, said conveyor belt including aplurality of spaced bars extending transversely of the path of said beltwith the ends thereof bent to extend substantially along said path, eachend of a plurality of said bars being formed with a substantially closedlink around the next adjacent bar, and one of said bars being formedwith open links for removably engaging the next adjacent bar to completethe continuous belt; and means connected to said housing for providing abearing for the moving belt, and for releasably applying tension to saidbelt to extend the belt and to maintain said open-link bar inengagement, including rod means and a pair of spaced brackets mounted onsaid housing for removably supporting said rod means to engage theinside surface of said belt and to apply tension thereto, whereby uponremoval of said rod means, the open-link bar of said belt isdisengageable for removal of said belt, the improvement therein of: saidbrackets of said bearing and tension applying means, each including aninclined camming surface and a seating surface for said rod means at oneend of said camming surface; whereby tension is applied to said belt bymoving said rod means along said bracket camming surfaces to saidseating surfaces of said brackets for retention therein.
 2. An improvedconveyor belt and tension applying means for use in a conveyor cooker asrecited in claim 1, wherein said brackets each include a base attachedto said housing, an ear projecting from said base and having saidcamming and seating surfaces formed along an edge thereof, and a lugprojecting from said ear forming a thumb rest for assistance in applyingmanual pressure to said rod means during unseating thereof.
 3. Animproved conveyor belt and tension applying means for use in a conveyorcooker as recited in claim 2, wherein said rod means includes a shaftand roller mounted thereon, said shaft having ends dimensioned forseating in said seating surfaces and shoulders for retention between theears of said brackets.
 4. An improved conveyor belt and tension applyingmeans for use in a conveyor cooker as recited in claim 1, wherein saidtension applying means extends the belt in a direction outwardly fromsaid enclosure portion and parallel to said material supporting surface,and said brackets are spacedly mounted on said housing for said belt topass therebetween, and wherein said camming surface is formed at anoblique angle to said material supporting surface.
 5. An improvedconveyor belt and tension applying means for use in a conveyor cooker asrecited in claim 4, wherein said brackets each include a base attachedto said housing, an ear projecting from said base in said tensiondirection and having said camming and seating surfaces formed along anedge thereof, and a lug projecting from said ear forming a thumb restfor assistance in applying manual pressure to said rod means duringunseating thereof; said lug being located on one side of said seatingsurface remote from said camming surface.
 6. An improved conveyor beltand tension applying means for use in a conveyor cooker as recited inclaim 5, wherein said rod means includes a shaft and roller mountedthereon, said shaft having ends dimensioned for seating in said seatingsurfaces and shoulders for retention between the ears of said brackets.7. An improved conveyor belt and tension applying means for use in aconveyor cooker as recited in claim 5, wherein said seating surface ofeach of said brackets is open and faces in said tension direction sothat said rod means is substantially unenclosed when seated and can bemoved in said tension direction without external interference.
 8. Animproved conveyor belt and tension applying means for use in a conveyorcooker as recited in claim 7, wherein said ear is planar and said thumbrest lug extends transversely to the plane thereof and away from thebelt therebetween.
 9. An improved conveyor belt and tension applyingmeans for use in a conveyor cooker as recited in claim 8, wherein saidcamming surface is inclined downwardly and out-wardly from said materialsupporting surface and said base respectively.